Senator KANE, for himself (and with thanks to Representative NEGUSE), introduced the following bill:  A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to submit to Congress a report on the national security implications of climate change. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “Climate Readiness Act of 2021”. SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE REPORT ON NATIONAL SECURITY IMPLICATIONS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.   (a) Report Required.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives a report on— (1) the national security implications associated with climate change; and (2) strategies and approaches for responding to climate change. (b) Report Elements.—The report required under subsection (a) shall include each of the following: (1) An overview of how the exacerbation of current global conflicts, the creation of new global conflicts, and increased geopolitical instability due to climate change is likely to affect the national security of the United States. (2) An overview of how climate change will affect the resiliency of current missions of the Armed Forces of the United States. (3) An overview of the actions the Secretary recommends to address the geopolitical threats to the security of the United States due to climate change. (4) A list of the ten most concerning existing or emerging conflicts that pose a risk to United States security that may be exacerbated by climate change. (c) Form Of Report.—The report required under subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex.

From the Office of Kyle Fitzgerald President Signs Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act w/Sen. Peters and Issues Pardons Washington, DC – President Kyle Fitzgerald and Senator Daniel Peters (R-NC) spoke at a signing ceremony for the Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act, sponsored by Senator Peters. President Fitzgerald also discussed several pardons that he issued today.  Senator Daniel Peters: “This bill takes an important step forward in protecting the 4th Amendment Rights of American citizens ensuring that our privacy is respected. At the same time, this bill recognizes the importance of protecting America from threats both foreign and domestic--but recognizes the importance of respecting due process in ensuring that judicial oversight exists through warrants. This bill also takes an important step forward in reforming the FISA Court which has been misused by previous administrations to circumvent the 4th Amendment. With the signing of this bill, law-abiding American citizens can be assured that their privacy will be protected--and that the security of America will remain strong against terrorist threats.” President Kyle Fitzgerald: “The American people are becoming increasingly concerned about the secretive power of America’s deep state. The Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act keeps the deep state in check by preventing government agents from getting access to personal data without a warrant and by reforming the broken FISA court system. Four years ago, Congressman Devin Nunes – the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee at the time – uncovered FISA abuses by politically motivated agents during the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation. As this bill was making its way through Congress, I took some to review the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. I have come to the conclusion that several individuals were unfairly charged or investigated as a result of this politically motivated investigation. Therefore, I have issued pardons for eight individuals who were targets of Crossfire Hurricane: George Papadopoulos, Rick Gates, Paul Manafort, Michael Flynn, Richard Pinedo, Alex van der Zwaan, Michael Cohen, and Roger Stone. Regardless of what you may think about any of these individuals, it doesn’t change the fact that they were unfairly targeted as a result of an unprecedented abuse of government power. I hope these pardons allow the country to move on from an unfortunate and unproductive chapter in our history.” View full press release

Executive Order #9 Re: Presidential Pardons (a) With the authority vested in me as the President of the United States, I hereby pardon the following individuals: (1) George Papadopoulos (2) Rick Gates (3) Paul Manafort (4) Michael Flynn (5) Richard Pinedo (6) Alex van der Zwaan (7) Michael Cohen (8) Roger Stone /s/ Kyle Fitzgerald President of the United States

Senator KANE, for himself (and with thanks to Senator MARKEY), introduced the following bill:  A BILL To amend the Revised Statutes to remove the defense of qualified immunity in the case of any action under section 1979, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the “Ending Qualified Immunity Act”. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. The Congress finds as follows: (1) In 1871, Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act to combat rampant violations of civil and constitutionally secured rights across the nation, particularly in the post-Civil War South. (2) Included in the act was a provision, now codified at section 1983 of title 42, United States Code, which provides a cause of action for individuals to file lawsuits against State and local officials who violate their legal and constitutionally secured rights. (3) Section 1983 has never included a defense or immunity for government officials who act in good faith when violating rights, nor has it ever had a defense or immunity based on whether the right was “clearly established” at the time of the violation. (4) From the law's beginning in 1871, through the 1960s, government actors were not afforded qualified immunity for violating rights. (5) In 1967, the Supreme Court in Pierson v. Ray, 386 U.S. 547, suddenly found that government actors had a good faith defense for making arrests under unconstitutional statutes based on a common law defense for the tort of false arrest. (6) The Court later extended this beyond false arrests, turning it into a general good faith defense for government officials. (7) Finally, in Harlow v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 800 (1982), the Court found the subjective search for good faith in the government actor unnecessary, and replaced it with an “objective reasonableness” standard that requires that the right be “clearly established” at the time of the violation for the defendant to be liable. (8) This doctrine of qualified immunity has severely limited the ability of many plaintiffs to recover damages under section 1983 when their rights have been violated by State and local officials. As a result, the intent of Congress in passing the law has been frustrated, and Americans' rights secured by the Constitution have not been appropriately protected. SEC. 3. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. It is the sense of the Congress that we must correct the erroneous interpretation of section 1983 which provides for qualified immunity, and reiterate the standard found on the face of the statute, which does not limit liability on the basis of the defendant's good faith beliefs or on the basis that the right was not “clearly established” at the time of the violation. SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF QUALIFIED IMMUNITY. Section 1979 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1983) is amended by adding at the end the following: “It shall not be a defense or immunity to any action brought under this section that the defendant was acting in good faith, or that the defendant believed, reasonably or otherwise, that his or her conduct was lawful at the time when it was committed. Nor shall it be a defense or immunity that the rights, privileges, or immunities secured by the Constitution or laws were not clearly established at the time of their deprivation by the defendant, or that the state of the law was otherwise such that the defendant could not reasonably have been expected to know whether his or her conduct was lawful.”.

Senator KANE, for himself (and with thanks to Senator MARKEY), introduced the following bill:  A BILL to prohibit actions to terminate or withdraw the United States from certain international agreements without a joint resolution of approval Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT NAME  (a) This bill may be referred to as the "Give Congress A Say Act".   SECTION 2. PROHIBITION ON UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS  (a) The President may not withdraw from or terminate international agreements or treaties without Congressional approval.  (b) Congress may provide approval to withdraw from or terminate international agreements or treaties through a joint resolution of approval.    SECTION 3.  (a) Any provision of law in conflict with this bill is declared null and void.